You Care, That's Nice
by botan-chan
Summary: Eiji Kikumaru is really annoyed at Oishi Shuuichiro. In fact, he's been really grumpy to everyone lately. A quiz was coming up, so Eiji asked Echizen's help. Echizen grudgingly obliges and finds out why his adorable senpai gets easily frustrated... [rated
1. Echizen's misfortune

Disclaimers: I don't own Prince of Tennis... although I'd love to have Eiji as mine! So adorable...  
  
:: Eiji Kikumaru and Oishi Shuuichiro, Seigaku's Golden Pair, has gotten into a small fight. Echizen is somehow stuck to his Kikumaru-senpai's side once again, much to his dismay, but what can he do? No one can resist Eiji...*sigh* mada mada dane... ::  
  
---: Kiku/Oishi, Kiku/Ryo, Fuji/Tezu, Inui/Kaidoh (I still feel weird pairing up these two...), Momo/An/Kamio, Ryo/Saku? (not sure) :---  
  
[ Characters are a SLIGHT OC... sorry! I tried so hard not to make them OC ='( Oh, and the story has a weird title overall XD ]  
  
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Chapter 1: Echizen's Misfortune... or is it?  
  
"Oishi~i!" cried the adorable redhead to his doubles partner and friend, stressing the last syllable as if saying 'delicious' in Japanese. He ran up to the green-eyed lad, lunged at him, pulled Oishi's face close to his and yelled, "Oishi~i!"  
  
Oishi blushed slightly due to their closeness. He could smell Eiji's breath, minty, yet a slight tinge of orange, though the thought of having a mint-orange flavored toothpaste made him feel sick and slightly dizzy, but it smelled wonderful to his nose. He swiftly looked at Eiji's lips as they moved to say his name. He blushed even more and became lost in Eiji's cute, whiny voice.  
  
"Oi, Oishi! Are you listening?! I've been repeating myself for the seventh time already! You're starting to annoy me, nya!"  
  
Oishi snapped out of his trance and apologized quickly to his friend as his blush slowly crept away. He cleared his throat and motioned for them to move along. Practice had already ended and they were on their way to the locker room to get dressed, where some of the others already were in.  
  
Eiji's mouth shrank, as his cheeks puffed out like a blowfish, his face red due to over-irritation.  
  
"N-nani [*]? What did I do?" Oishi asked hurriedly, afraid of Eiji's tantrums. Eiji had once thrown a tantrum against him, kicking him hard in the upper thighs, possible aiming for his crotch (and would've hit it if it weren't for Fuji pulling Eiji away), when he had forgot to greet him 'happy birthday'. [Man, Eiji sounds like a horrible person XD Well... let's call him... emotional =D]  
  
"You don't want to listen to me! You wouldn't listen to me! And now you're trying to make me shut up, nya! Do I talk to much?! Well, gomen ne [*]! Maybe I shouldn't talk to you anymore then!" he said quite sarcastically. "I hate you, hmph!" and with that, he stormed away to the locker room and slammed the door on Oishi's worried face.  
  
"Ch-chotto matte [*], Eiji-senpai! I need to get dressed! DON'T CLOSE THE--," Momoshiro Takeshi yelled at the top of his lungs, racing to get a hold of the door before it fully closed on him. He was too late. He tried to open it, but it was locked. He turned the knob over and over, harder and even more furiously each time, rapped hard on the door, yelled once again, but no one bothered to open it from inside. He sighed with aggravation and turned to Oishi.  
  
"Oishi-senpai, I don't mean to be rude, but I know this is your doing. What did you do? Why did he do that? What are WE gonna do, dress out here?!"  
  
Oishi looked at him and smiled reassuringly. "He'll come out soon and we'll be able to go in later. They can't stay there forever."  
  
Momo looked him over and said, "Ok, if you say so." He faced the door, banged on it and yelled, "Hurry up, Eiji-senpai and you lots! I've got a date with Tachibana's sister and I don't want to be late!"  
  
Oishi gasped. "T-Tachibana's sister? From Fudoumine? Tachibana, An?"  
  
Momo gave him a toothy grin and held out his hand in a victory sign.  
  
The door behind them opened, and out came Kaidoh Kaoru, a second year student, he wasn't wearing the green bandana he usually wears, but he still got his trademark scowl in his face. He looked at the two of them—no wait, looked at Oishi and GLARED at Momoshiro. He walked away, hissing; the sight of Momoshiro annoyed the living hell out of him.  
  
Next came Kawamura Takeshi, who merely gave them both a gentle smile. He closed the door, much to Momo and Oishi's dismay, but he didn't notice. He put his arm over the back of his head and asked to be excused because he was needed home right away.  
  
"Are you meeting that pretty lady again, Kawamura-senpai?" Momo asked.  
  
"I-iie [*]. I-I'm working today, honestly..." Momo only smirked at this remark.  
  
"Stop it, Momo." Oishi turned to Kawamura and said, "Go ahead, and don't mind Momo. Have fun! See you tomorrow and take care, Taka-san!"  
  
"Hai [*]!" He ran at top speed, hoping to make it on time to help his father carry and organized the stock coming in.  
  
After a few minutes, the door reopened. Oishi and Momoshiro's head snapped around to look at who it was. Inui came out, scribbling some data in his green notebook. "Hm," he mumbled, more to himself, while writing his newfound data. "Kikumaru tends to be edgy, snappy, irritated, mean, and even scary when mad. Extra note: He broke the old wooden racquet with his two hands..." and he left, his voice getting garbled and incomprehensible. Momo and Oishi could only look at each other.  
  
Someone in the back opened a can of something. They whirled around and saw Ryoma, standing in the doorway, a can of grape Ponta in his hands. He sipped it casually, looking at the two senpai's in front of him.  
  
"Hmm..."he murmured. In the back, you could hear a person (Eiji) yelling and mumbling rather loudly to himself. "Mn," Echizen continued. "Mada mada dane [*], Oishi-senpai. Looks like you really irritated Kikumaru-senpai."  
  
"A-ah... it looks like it."  
  
"Hm. Well, ja [*]." Echizen turned to leave, but something grabbed him by the collar. "Eh? K-Kikumaru-senpai, what do you want?" he managed to choke out.  
  
Kikumaru held on to Echizen's collar, blissfully unaware that he's choking the poor guy. "Oi, Ochibi [*]. Go home with me today, nya? Help me with English. It was supposed to be me and Oishi," he glared at Oishi then looked back at Ryoma, "but you'll do. In fact, you'll be better than him, ne, Ochibi? At least, you would listen when I talk to you, nya! You won't ignore me, nya?" he gave him a playful smile.  
  
Echizen could only stare at him, unbelievingly. Eiji let his grip lose and patted his friend on the shoulder. "Yosh, let's go! Let's buy some ice cream on the way too, nya?" he beamed and ran past Oishi without acknowledging his presence. "Oi! C'mon Ochibi! Get a move on!" he ran towards the gate and raced to the ice-cream store.  
  
Momoshiro laughed. "Seems like it's 'mada mada dane' for you, Echizen," and burst out laughing once again, much louder than the first one.  
  
"Teh."  
  
Oishi looked at Echizen, then to Kikumaru's retreating figure, then back to Echizen. 'What exactly did I do to make him so upset?' He looked down on the ground, depressed. Once again, he had done something stupid.  
  
"It's alright, Oishi-senpai. Eiji-senpai will get over it by tomorrow. In the meantime, I really gotta go. Don't want to be late for my date!" Momo rushed in the locker room and started dressing quickly.  
  
Oishi reassured himself as he repeated Momo's words in his mind. 'Eiji- senpai will get over it by tomorrow... Will get over it by tomorrow... Will get over it by tomorrow... Tomorrow? That's way too long... but he'll get over it. Better than not getting over it... will get over it by tomorrow—,'  
  
"—Oishi-senpai!" Echizen yelled.  
  
Oishi was caught by surprise when Echizen's voice penetrated his thoughts. He grunted, letting him now that he's got his full attention.  
  
"Mou, now I understand Kikumaru-senpai. You zone out a lot; it does get rather annoying, Oishi-senpai." He stared at his older companion. "Well, ja. Kikumaru-senpai will get even more irritated if I stood him up." He only walked a few paces away when Oishi called him back.  
  
"Are you going over to his house?"  
  
"... Aa. I guess so."  
  
"Well, you better go home first and gather your stuff. His study session tends to go overnight."  
  
Ryoma only looked at him and listened.  
  
"Okay, when you see him losing concentration, just leave him alone for a while. He just needs to re-focus. Oh, and make things simple for him so he can understand better.  
  
Also, remind him that we're having a test in our math class tomorrow. Help him prepare for it because he can't afford to fail it. It's a rather big portion of our grade. Ano... I tend to draw the regulars (us) for the math problems; he likes that. Ano... hm," Oishi stopped to think. "Oh, and he likes to sing after study sessions. He has a karaoke in his room. If you guys do decide to sing, please remind him not to do it loudly as to not disturb the neighbors."  
  
Echizen took the information in his head, mentally listing them. 'Oishi- senpai really does act like a mother...' He sighed and said, "Haaai," like how he would say it when he's bored or being dragged to do something he doesn't want to.  
  
"Arigatou, Echizen."  
  
"... Betsuni [*]."  
  
=============  
  
Here's a little Japanese dictionary if you need it:  
  
Nani? - what?  
  
Gomen ne – I'm sorry  
  
Chotto Matte – I think it means 'wait' or 'hold on'  
  
Iie – no  
  
Hai – yes  
  
Mada Mada Dane – Echizen's catch phrase, 'it's not over yet' or something  
  
Ja – Later/bye  
  
Ochibi – kiddo/baby boy  
  
Betsuni – it doesn't matter/whatever/sure no problem 


	2. Unexpected Hero

Chapter 2: Little Hero (Corny, I agree... -.-)  
  
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"A large triple scoop of strawberry ice cream and one small scoop of chocolate fudge ice cream, please."  
  
"Coming right up!" the girl in the counter giggled and turned around sharply, allowing her skimpy little pink skirt that went up at least 8 inches above her knee, to sway in the wind and reveal a pink lacey underwear.  
  
Ryoma had the urge to roll his eyes because he knew that the girl did it on purpose, although he couldn't deny the fact that he felt a little bit turned on.  
  
He walked away from the counter and rested himself on the nearby wall. He leaned on it and pulled his right left up, allowing his left leg to stand support. He cast a glance towards the table near the window, which was occupied by a bubbly redhead, chatting animatedly to an old couple sitting not too far from him. They seemed to be enjoying themselves.  
  
"... And then, Ochibi rescued me! Oh, there he is!" Ryoma heard his senpai exclaim, and saw him pointing in his direction. He pulled his cap down over his face to hide his blushing. He knew his senpai was talking about the little incident that happened earlier...  
  
:: Flashback ::  
  
"Oi, Ochibi, thanks for going with me. You want a can of your favorite Ponta juice before we get ice cream?"  
  
Echizen looked at Eiji from the corner of his eye and mumbled, "Aa. Bestuni."  
  
The redhead chirped and walked towards the vending machine. He took his coin out from his pocket and posed himself to place it in the coin slot. Echizen stood in the back and watched silently.  
  
"What flavor, Ochibi? Grape, strawberry, cherry... Oh! There's a new kiwi/strawberry flavor! Do you want that?"  
  
"Betsuni."  
  
Eiji slowly put the coin in the slot, when a guy in a bicycle squeezed in between him and Ryoma in high speed, which knocked both of them down.  
  
Eiji's bottom collided rather hardly on the ground. "Itai [*]!" he cried with one eye closed shut. He stood up slowly and rubbed his swollen end carefully. He stood over Ryoma, who fell on his back, and helped him up.  
  
"Mou! What a jerk!" Eiji grumbled, watching the retreating figure of the guy who knocked them down. He dusted Ryoma's clothes absentmindedly, from the chest, the back, his butt, and even the spot in the front, which made Ryoma blush furiously. He felt a pressure on the spot between his legs from the stimulation, and moved away from Eiji's grip hastily.  
  
"Now look what he's done!" Eiji cried as he pointed to his coin lying down in the middle of the street; cars passing by it. "That's the only change I have too!" He obviously didn't notice Ryoma's actions.  
  
Ryoma was facing back from Eiji. He fixed his cap over his head and turned around when he was sure that his 'friend went back to sleep'. What he saw made his blood freeze.  
  
"Kikumaru-senpai!"  
  
"Huh?" Eiji was in the middle of the road, bent down and clutching the coin in his fingers. He looked at Echizen and followed his gaze. A big truck was approaching at a high speed. His legs wouldn't budge, no matter how much his mind screamed at him. He stood there, wide-eyed.  
  
It happened in an instant. The next thing he knew, he was on the other side of the road, with Echizen breathing heavily and wide-eyed on top of him.  
  
"K-Kikumaru-senpai..." Echizen choked out. His heart was beating wildly and his mind racing and screaming. He had the urge to cry, but he stopped himself.  
  
"O-Ochibi..." Eiji stared at him, having a full view of him. He couldn't feel or think at all for a few minutes, until his shock ebbed away. He felt a sharp pain in his left foot. "Itai..."  
  
Echizen slowly stood up and moved away from Eiji, aware of the stares they were getting from passerby's. He held out his hand to help his senpai up and noticed how he avoided putting any weight on his left foot.  
  
"Daijabou ka, Kikumaru-senpai?" he was surprised to hear his voice sound so normal.  
  
"Eh..." Eiji cringed. "I twisted my ankle, nya. This is bad... and nationals is just around the corner, too..."  
  
"I'm sure they'll understand," Echizen said, trying his best to sound thoughtful. He took a deep breath and raised his voice slightly, "What the hell did you think you were doing, Kikumaru-senpai?! A 100 yen isn't worth risking your life for! Seriously, that was stupid."  
  
Kikumaru blinked once, twice, several times before realizing that he just got lectured by his kohai [*], yet alone his little Ochibi.  
  
"Ochibi? He said softly. "Gomen. I didn't mean to... I'm just not myself lately... it's..." he broke off.  
  
Echizen watched him silently. He sighed and said, "Don't mind it. It's fine. Let's just go get ice cream..."  
  
"Okay!"  
  
"Can you walk?"  
  
Eiji held up his arm and made a 'V-sign'. "Hoi, hoi! I'm strong! This is nothing, nya!" but as he tried to walk, he ended up limping and falling down.  
  
Echizen gave a long sigh, bent down, and held his senpai in his arms, acting as a support. They walked, side by side, Echizen having the hardest time ever, on account that he had to hold up someone twice his height. Kikukaru wasn't taking it easy either. He had to bend way down in order for Ryoma to hold him up. It was an odd pairing indeed.  
  
Luckily for them, the ice cream place wasn't that far. Echizen smiled (more like a smirk -.-) and said to himselg, "Mada mada... what a day."  
  
:: End flashback ::  
  
"Here you go, cutey!" the girl giggled again and jumped up, her breasts bouncing up seductively. Echizen couldn't help himself. He went ahead and rolled his eyes, which wasn't left unnoticed. He stood straight and walked up to the counter to pick up his order. He ignored the girl.  
  
"What a brat!" he heard the girl exclaim in a whisper as he walked away. He only smiled as he approached the cute acrobatics guy.  
  
"Here, Kikumaru-senpai."  
  
"Arigatou, Ochibi-sama [*]!" joked Eiji, which made the old couple next to them chuckle and Ryoma blush.  
  
==================== 


End file.
